I guess I’m on an Alice in Wonderland kick, with a pen, because it’s the only thing I seem to enjoy drawing these days. I’m not sure if it’s the art style or if I was really missing drawing with a pen that much, but I have two more Alice drawings for you:

Don’t we all wish we had a White Rabbit in our lives. Someone who peaked our interest in adventure and easily lead the way down the rabbit hole. No one willingly jumps down a rabbit hole, but if you are lead by curiosity it becomes a whole lot easier.

The Mad Hatter tea party is one of my favorite scenes in this movie and it was, obviously then, one of my favorite chapters in the book. The Mad Hatter’s table is a place where everything that is reason becomes not and everything that is not becomes reason; without question. In fact, if you question this you yourself become questionable. If you become questionable you are immediately the one who is mad and must be immediately removed from the table. It is a place where lemon fixes a watch and mustard will not! Jam solves anxiety and it’s your birthday everyday… well sort of. A place where having none means you can’t have any less and there is never room at a table full of chairs.

People these days are afraid to be silly. This is why I love Alice in Wonderland so much! It gives you permission to be completely silly without having to give any reasoning. If you feel you have not appropriately filled your allotment of silly to day, please do yourself a favor and watch this…

So in the theme of my New Years Resolution I have drawn you a little selection from my February book. As you may or may not remember, Sherlock Holmes was my January book. This months book was none other than Alice in Wonderland. This story has always been a favorite of mine. Though many people viewed This story as a drug trip I viewed it as a wonderful imaginative getaway. I love the creativity of the story telling, characters, visuals and humor.

Have you ever thought to play croquet with a flamingo? Order a pack of cards to guard your castle? Thought to ask a caterpillar it’s name? Looked at a mushroom and considered its ability to cause you to grow taller than a tree or shrink you smaller than the mushroom itself? I didn’t think so. I do think that of more people thought this way the world would seem a much more magical place!

You might think that writers block only applies to writers.. It doesn’t. I applies to artists too.

I go through phases where I can’t put my sketchbook down. Then I go through phases where I attempt to draw something and it looks like Picasso drew it. Maybe that’s how Picasso got his start. Perhaps he was an incredible life-drawing artist, then hit a roadblock, but he had a deadline for an exhibit and just kept going. I can’t do that. I just get frustrated.

I am in a roadblock. Allison, I attempted to draw you, twice and both failed. I am still attempting.

Ok, so I keep looking at the drawings I have left to post and I’m not too crazy about a lot of them. Don’t get me wrong, they will make it up eventually, but I would love to post some more recent stuff. Seeing how my most recent drawing is of a monkey I thought I would bring the sophistication level up a bit.

Here you go, no drawing post today, BUT have you been looking at my art and thinking, “Man, I wish my face would appear on the internet in pencil or pen form”. Wish no longer. If you would like me to sketch a picture of your choosing please post a link to your photo in the comments below!

Now, I am only one person and each drawing can take me upwards of an hour or two. This being said, I will only be choosing ONE photo to start with, so pick a good one. If I fancy a few others I may expand and depending on how this goes I will be doing it again!

Often when I draw I like to make it an event. I spend a bit of time looking for that perfect picture, gather my supplies and head to a local coffee shop with the intentions of staying a long time. Usually I do this in the winter. Cabin fever kicks in and the thought of a hot latte I didn’t make kicks me out.

People are a lot friendlier than we give them credit. The whole idea of “Stranger Danger” is great for a five year old in a playground; however, adults tend to apply this safe-guard when it’s not always needed. Nearly every time I have drawn in public I meet someone.

When I drew the above there was a group of people sitting outside the window I was drawing at. I could tell they were constantly watching my progress on the drawing and this made me nervous. Not in the ‘Stranger Danger’ sense, but I felt a need to get each thing right. Near the end of my time there one of the guys from the group came in. He was in a wheelchair and commented on how talented I was. He asked me where I got my inspiration from and began to tell me he was also an artist who got inspiration from his travels. I asked him where he had been and he began telling me of one of his adventures; hitchhiking across the USA and yes, he was in a wheelchair during this adventure. I bet his story would make an amazing film, but you would have no idea that story was there unless you asked.

I remember an Oprah show once that talked about peoples stories, complete strangers around you who had tales that could win Academy Awards. The guy Oprah was interviewing on this subject would take phone books, point to random people, call them up and whoever answered the phone got to have a biography on them filmed and aired. At the end of the show they set up a dartboard of the setting chart of her audience. The guy Oprah was interviewing threw a dart at the board and the seat it marked had a segment on their story in the following weeks.

I remember the guy who was selected was originally from Africa and had a heart wrenching story of slavery and war. I can’t remember a lot of details and don’t want to attempt to write them from memory to ruin his story, but you get the idea. Just think about that the next time you are sitting in a coffee shop. Who exactly is sitting next to you?

I have never before made a New Years resolution, until this year. I was speaking about all the books I have never read with a friend over breakfast on new years eve. This conversation stemmed from a really great collection of leather-bound classics my friend owned. Among them was A Christmas Carol, which I have been meaning to read for the past three Christmas’. The New Years Resolution was then created.

This year I am reading twelve classics in twelve months. I have created said list and began searching used book stores for these books. I realize most of these books are free for the iPhone or Kindle, but I prefer to read the classics in the classic covers. January’s book is none other than Sherlock Holmes. Mostly because it was the first book I found on my list and it was .25 cents at a library. I am enjoying it very much!

I did mention in a previous post that I wished to get to the point where I drew a picture corresponding to something in my life. As such, here is a little something I drew just today!

In Robert Downey Jr. Style, draw entirely with a bic pen, I give you Sherlock Holmes. Save a slightly crooked mouth I am super happy with this! I was actually inspired to draw Sherlock Holmes after seeing the first movie. At the end during the credits there are pictures from the movie shown in sketch form. I believe this was done using photo-shop; however, it was a brilliant idea and one I want to learn from. I actually had a friend suggest doing this with any movie, watching it and then pausing it at a random spot and begin sketching. I still am interested in doing it.

I am looking forward to this New Years resolution. Perhaps I will post a few more drawings relating to it. We shall see come February.